A Story Untold with Aunt Red
by Ella D. Scottson
Summary: While looking after Henry in "Broken," Red tells the story of her romance with a thieving outlaw. Red&Henry Ships: Red Robin Rating: K Sequel? Possibly


"Are you going to be my Aunt now?" Henry asked as they drove away from his family.

Red smiled down at him, "If you want me to be."

He turned in his seat and stared at her, "Well you are my grandmother's best friend, so you are part of the family."

"Well, Emma doesn't know Red, just Ruby, I'm not sure if she wants Ruby as part of your family," she seemed a little ashamed, looking out the window as they went by the diner, "I haven't exactly set a good example."

"Emma, doesn't trust to a lot of people," he smiled, "But she gave me to you just fine."

Red raised her eyebrows, "She took some convincing."

Henry cocked his head to the side, "Why wouldn't she want you in the family? You protected my grandparents from all sorts of stuff."

"I've also slept with half the town," Red said sourly.

"You were cursed," Henry offered.

"So?" Red asked like she didn't see that as a fit excuse.

"Ruby wasn't really you," he said.

She glanced away from the road at him, "I still have to live with my choices."

Henry smiled, "You've eaten a town, and everyone still loves you. Can you do anything worse than that?"

Red seemed conflicted, "That shouldn't make me feel better."

"Does it?"

"Yes," she said slowly.

Henry smiled at her as they pulled up to the bed and breakfast, grabbing his backpack from the back seat. "Anyway, you were just looking for him," he said.

"Who?" Red asked, unlocking the gate.

"Your prince," Henry said.

Red turned and stared down at him with one hand on the gate, "I don't have one."

Henry grinned, "Not yet."

Raising an eyebrow, Red pushed through the gate and wrapped an arm around the boy, "You're a lot like Snow, you know that." Henry beamed, rightfully taking that as a compliment. Red messed his hair before approaching the front door cautiously, not sure what was inside. Henry stood right behind her as they entered the dark inn. "Hello!" Red called, keeping Henry behind her, holding his hand tight as if not to lose him.

He could feel her hand shaking a little, "I don't think there's anyone here, Ruby."

"I promised Snow and Emma I'd protect you," she said quietly, walking him into the kitchen, "And that's exactly what I'm doing." She sat him down at the small dining table in the corner of the room and went over to the fridge.

"My mom wouldn't hurt me," Henry said, pulling his book out.

Red grabbed the carton of milk and a cookie and placed them in front of Henry. "You'll have to forgive me if I struggle to believe that," she said quietly, taking a seat beside him.

"I do," he said lightly, flipping through the pages, "But even with all the bad stuff, the parts of people that love are really the only that matters."

Sitting back in her chair, Red stared at Henry nostalgically, remembering how those words came from a long-lost friend. "Is Robin Hood in that book?" she asked after a while. Henry looked up at her, his lip soaked with a milk mustache, and shook his head.

Red looked down at the floor, "Oh."

"Why?" Henry asked excitedly, "Do you know him?"

"Uhhh, yeah, kind of," Red muttered.

Henry stared up at her with wide eyes, "Tell me!"

She shrugged, getting up to go preoccupy herself with something, "It's a long story."

"Well," Henry beamed, sitting back in his chair and giving her his undivided attention, "we have until my mom saves the world."

Red stared over at his adorable grin and sighed; she couldn't resist him. "Fine," she grabbed a cookie for herself and went back to sit with him, "but no one knows about this but Snow, so you can't say anything especially to Granny! If she knew I fell for an outlaw, she'd kill me!" Henry nodded sternly, ready for a story he hadn't read a million times. "It was after Snow gone with the dwarves, and when James and I were looking for her while running from King George. One night, King George's army was able to track us down, and I knew we wouldn't be able to out run him, but it was a full moon that night. So-"

"You ate King George's army?" Henry interrupted excitedly.

Laughing at his boyish sense of violent justice, Red shook her head. "No," she went on to explain, "Unfortunately, one of the men's swords was silver, or at least coated in silver." Henry suddenly looked defeated, like he had expected her to have a triumphant win. "The goal wasn't to kill them, Henry," Red said quietly, "I never set out to hurt anyone, but I did want to send them screaming in the other direction. But, like I was saying, they dropped me in a matter of seconds. I woke up the next morning with a sword in my side, and two guys standing around me."

"Robin and Little John," Henry said.

"Well, no," Red corrected, "It isn't Little John; his name was Much, and he was actually far more concerned about me than Robin was. Robin thought I was dead and was planning on selling my cloak to some witch he knew. However, I told him that unless he wanted to become my dinner that night, he should give me my hood back." Henry smirk with pride; he liked being almost related to someone so cool. "I was fading in out of consciencness from having a sword holding me together like a toothpick in a ruben, but I could hear Much and Robin arguing over whether or not they should help me. Robin thought it was a hastle, and Much thought I was too pretty to leave behind."

"Robin wanted to leave you there to die?" Henry asked in disbelief, and Red nodded, "And you fell in love with this guy?"

Red sighed, "I'm getting there." Henry sat back in his chair, looking displeased with her choices. "When Much finally convinced Robin to help me, Robin pulled out the sword, which hurt like h-" Red hesitated, staring at Henry's young face, "heck. And covered the wound by tying his quiver, which was pretty much a burlap sack, around my waist. Then he," Red blushed a little, hoping Henry was too much of a boy to notice, "he carried me back to their camp."

Henry, who obviously didn't see the romantisim in that last part, glared at Red with confusion, "I don't think that matters when he wanted to le-"

Red sighed, "Do you want to hear the story, or not?"

He sank down in the chair, ready to listen. "So, what happened after you got to his camp?" he asked.

"Much told me Robin's story," Red explained, "how he was one of the King's greatest knights, until they no longer saw eye-to-eye. The king wanted to join the Ogres War even though the kingdom was too small to fight. There weren't enough soldiers, which meant children would have to fight too, some younger than you." Henry's eyes widened with fear as he saw himself on a battlefield. "Robin thought it was barbaric and refused to fight, forcing him on the run to avoid being arrested for treason. And he began robbing people so mothers could buy their sons and daughters out of the war. He was a hero in my opinion. And once I convinced him I agreed with everything he was doing and wouldn't turn him in, he began teaching me how to survive until I could find Snow or Granny. He improved my archery, and taught me how to sword fight, which came in handy protecting your mom and Snow from Regina. Then, the day came when I really had to find Granny, and he told me he couldn't let me go it alone, so he came with me."

"And you guys fell in love looking for them," Henry concluded.

Blushing wildly, Red turned her water glass round in her hand, "Yes. But after Snow and James got married, and I joined the war council, I never found him to clear his name. I don't even know if he's alive."

Henry beamed, "He's gotta be in Storybrook."

"Never seen him," Red sighed.

"I'll help you find him," he assured her.

Red stared over at Henry, knowing Robin wasn't in Storybrook, but not wanting to dash his spirit. "Thanks," she smiled feebly.

"Anything specific about him I can keep an eye out for?"

She sighed, "The crescent moon pendant he stole from me the night he found me." Henry was thrilled, gearing up to devise a plan, but before he could, the lights throughout the inn went out and thunder began roaring outside. "What the hell?" Red followed Henry to the front door as her car alarm began screeching.

"Ruby," Henry asked as a hooded figure hovered in the street, "what is that thing?"

Red wrapped her arm around him, pulling him away from the windows, "Regina's desperate attempt at victory."

- O -

He sat up in the branches, resting his head against the trunk of the tree, carving new arrowheads. He had hoped that once time started moving again, that they'd all come back and things would go back to normal. But nothing had changed.

"Robin!" Much called up to him, "There's a safe place north, and its not far from here! We should go and see if we can help!" Robin didn't move, pulling twine from his satchel and tying the arrowhead to a stick. "She might be there!" Much offered.

Sighing heavily, Robin reached up and took the half moon pendant between his fingers. He knew she had probably been sent away in the curse, but perhaps she had been left behind too. There's was a chance he could still find her.


End file.
